Winning II 
by George B. Moffat Jr. 
Hardcover, 250 pages, many black and white photos and line drawings
Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.4 x 0.83 inches (140 x 214 x 21 mm), Copyright: 2005

Two-time world soaring champion George Moffat reveals his special insights to competition soaring. Also includes his relationships with some of the most notable soaring personalities.  This is a highly revised and improved version of the book Winning on the Wind from 1974.

Back Cover Text by Doug Jacobs, World Champion 1985 in Rieti

For the generation of competition pilots who came of age in the 70s and 80s, George Moffat's ground breaking book, Winning on the Wind assumed totemic status.  Revealed therein were this two-time World Champion's secrets for exhaustive ship preparation, contest strategy, and most important, winning by not losing.

Along the way we were treated to an inside view of the development of George's competition soaring career and the many incredible people he worked with, all coolly evaluated by the keen analytical eye which helped him revolutionize the sport.  Many of us can still quote major sections of the book verbatim; nearly all the lessons contained therein now form a must-know basic curriculum for successful competitive effort.

With many of the ships originally described now in soaring museums, with the appearance of new technologies and techniques, and, of course, with lots more people and lots more competition experiences behind him, George felt that Winning on the Wind needed a major update.  A daunting task: How to improve upon a classic?  What to leave in, what to add, what to delete?

As will come as no surprise, Moffat negotiates the dangers of this effort brilliantly in this new edition, Winning II.  The basics remain but with multiple additions and revisions: How to win contests, the importance of attitude and preparation, a look at his early development, but added to the brew are analyses of the major changes to the competition scene, next level topics like to place competition flying, and exquisitely drawn portraits of key figures like Klaus Holighaus.

With an introduction by Mike Bird, the incomparable Platypus of British Gliding fame, the book will rightly take its place alongside the original in your bookshelf, to be taken down and reread time after time, with no reduction in the pleasure of each reading.

Search for used copies at: alibris or amazon.com or Barnes&Noble or ebay